Dilemma: AAdvantage Executive Platinum or British Airways Gold?

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I haven’t exactly made it a secret that I don’t think very highly of American Airlines anymore and I haven’t exactly been quiet on the changes that have been made (and that are still to be made) to the AAdvantage program. With those things in mind it’s probably no surprise to find out that I’ve been keeping my eye open for somewhere new to credit all my flying. So far I haven’t really come up with any great alternatives but a blog I wrote last week gave me pause for thought and it’s given me a dilemma.

The British Airways Executive Club isn’t exactly new to me and it’s an option I’ve considered and dismissed in the past but, for a number of reasons, it’s now a bit more interesting.

Devaluations To The AAdvantage Progam

One of the main reasons why I’ve enjoyed having American Airlines Executive Platinum status (EXP) over the past few years has been the Systemwide Upgrade (SWU) benefit that comes with American’s top-tier status. But that benefit has been slashed (EXPs will get 4 SWUs instead of 8 from 2017) and the SWUs will almost certainly be devalued once American introduces its Premium Economy cabins.

If the SWU benefits had been kept in place the other changes to the AAdvantage program may have been tolerable (because there is nowhere better to go) but American couldn’t resist slashing just about everything in sight.

If, as I strongly suspect, SWUs will soon only upgrade passengers from Economy to Premium Economy (signalling the end of Economy to Business Class upgrades) then they won’t really be that valuable of a benefit any more. So what’s keeping me with AAdvantage?

The Benefits I Enjoy

I’m based in two cities in which oneworld airlines are pretty powerful and give me a lot of options for my travels (LA and London) so it makes sense to credit my flights towards a oneworld airline’s loyalty program.

For the past 7 years that program has been AAdvantage (because it was the best) but, with the recent devaluations, I’ve been noticing that the AAdvantage benefits I’m enjoying the most (and that I should be able to enjoy in the future despite the changes) are not specific to AAdvantage – they’re oneworld Emerald benefits:

• Access to some of the best First Class lounges around the world (like the Qantas First Class lounge at LAX)
• Seat selection at the time of booking on most oneworld airlines
• Priority boarding – Emeralds are one of the first groups to board
• Extra baggage allowance – 1 additional checked bag on top of the regular allowance for the cabin of travel.
• Priority baggage handling on most oneworld airlines
• Fast track through security at a large number of airports around the world (regardless of the cabin you’re traveling in).

I don’t do enough US domestic flying to make the complimentary upgrades that big of a deal so I can get most of the benefits I value by hitting top-tier status with any of the oneworld airlines.

Earning OneWorld Status

Most of the oneworld airlines have rewards programs that are either not very rewarding or require far too much spend to reach a meaningful status….but that’s not true for all oneworld rewards programs.

On Friday I posted a blog detailing some excellent Qatar Airways Business Class fares from Europe to Asia and, alongside the fares, I showed what flyers could expect to earn (in terms of miles, points and elite qualification) if they credited those flights to AAdvantage or the British Airways Executive Club……and it really showed how easy it is to earn high status with British Airways.

To earn British Airways Gold status (the same as oneworld Emerald status) a flyer needs to collect 1,500 Tier Points in a membership year….

….and most of the Qatar Airways Business Class fares I posted on Friday would generate 560 Tier points each.

With just three trips I could have British Airways Gold status.

To put that into context let’s see how much that would cost and how that compares to what the AAdvantage earnings would be.

The three cheapest trips I found were as follows:

• Pisa – Doha – Bangkok (and back) – $1,362
• Pisa – Doha – Seoul (and back) – $1,378
• Pisa – Doha – Tokyo (and back) – $1,396

Total cost: $4,136

Those three trips would earn 1,680 Tier Points which would easily see me to British Airways Gold status.

In comparison, those same trips would see me earn the following towards AAdvantage Executive Platinum Status (EXP):

• 62,164 Elite Qualifying Miles – 62% of the way to EXP
• 8,288 Elite Qualifying Dollars – 83% of the way to EXP

Note: I would need to hit both the EQM and EQD targets to hit EXP status.

While the three trips would secure me British Airways Gold status I would still have to fly another two trips (of the kind I listed above) to hit AAdvantage Executive Platinum Status.

At best (I’m assuming I’d be able to find fares as great as these again) that would cost a further $2,740 (over 66% more!).

That’s quite a compelling reason to credit the flights to the British Airways Executive Club!

Another Benefit To British Airways Status

I gave up my Citi AAdvantage Executive Credit Card last year in favor of the Citi Prestige credit card but, in 2017, the Citi Prestige will no longer give me access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges…but BA Gold status (or Silver status) would.

It’s not a huge deal considering how little time I spend flying domestically in the US….but it’s a nice added perk.

The Big Dilemma

If it were just down to pure hard cash then what to do next would be obvious – I’d credit my 2017 flights to the British Airways Executive Club, get Gold status and say sayonara to the AAdvantage program….but it’s not that easy.

The problem is that the rewards programs aren’t just about status – they’re about the rewards currency you earn as well – and British Airways Avios is terrible in comparison to AAdvantage Miles. Yes, even the devalued AAdvantage miles…that just how bad Avios are.

I wrote a post a few months back showing why I think that a segment of British Airways flyers should actually be crediting their flight to AAdvantage and the main argument behind that post was that you need a lot fewer AAdvantage miles to fly in comfort around the world than you do Avios.

Here’s the comparison chart I used at the time:

In all but one case it takes fewer AAdvantage Miles (often a lot fewer!) to book an award on these flights….and that’s a big issue.

On top of that, while American still awards bonus miles (based on status) for travel on all partner airlines, the British Airways Executive club does not…..and that’s annoying. It’s especially annoying that status-dependent bonus avios aren’t offered on Qatar Airways flights considering the great deals that this airline often offers:

One of the benefits of flying around a lot is that you accumulate miles and points with which you can take your loved ones on amazing trips so it’s important to credit flights to a program that best allows you to do that…and I don’t think that’s the Executive Club.

Bottom Line

I’m genuinely unsure of what to do. I actually have two of the great Qatar Airways fares already booked and I don’t know which airline’s rewards program I should credit it to. Do I go with the easy-to-get Elite status and just accept that I’m going to be earning a rewards currency I really don’t value too highly or do I suck it up with AAdvantage, pay more for top-tier status and earn a currency that, all things considered, isn’t as bad?

Any ideas? All suggestions in the comments section are very welcome 🙂